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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22643899">Beating Hearts, Burning Embers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruination_fangs/pseuds/ruination_fangs'>ruination_fangs</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Male My Unit | Byleth, Post-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 12:22:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,219</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22643899</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruination_fangs/pseuds/ruination_fangs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Edelgard may be a force of nature herself, but to someone born and raised in Enbarr, nights in northern Faerghus are nearly unbearable.<br/>Luckily, these days Byleth is never far away.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>86</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Beating Hearts, Burning Embers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i'm cold</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It takes Edelgard somewhere between several minutes and several hours to raise her hand and knock on the door.</p><p>It's impossible to tell which is more accurate; everything is still and dark in the hallway, motionless, frozen in time. Edelgard's feet feel frozen too, rooted to the wooden floor beneath her, the chill creeping up through her thick tights and into her veins. The candle she carries illuminates a small space around her and leaves the far ends of the hallway in shadow. </p><p>She hesitates there until her teeth are all but chattering in her skull. She hadn't meant to be here, not really - she just felt the need to move, somewhere, anywhere, and a small amount of wandering brought her to this door before she could even think about who is behind it.</p><p>When she does finally knock, a rap loud enough to wake a trained mercenary but not disturb the rest of the hall, she calls softly, "Byleth?... It's Edelgard."</p><p>Edelgard breathes in, the air chilling her nose and throat. A voice calls back into the silence, "Yes?"</p><p>The single word grants all the permission Edelgard needs, and she opens the door, the hinges creaking faintly as it moves. The metal handle is cold; Edelgard releases it quickly and lets it shut behind her with a soft click. Turning back around, the glow of her candle reveals that Byleth is still in bed, propped on one elbow as he squints into the light. Edelgard takes a few more steps forward.</p><p>"Is something wrong?" Byleth asks.</p><p>Edelgard pauses. "No... I am sorry if I alarmed you. I couldn't sleep, and..."</p><p>Byleth only blinks in response. Edelgard is sure they're both remembering nights at the monastery, each of them awake after hours, wandering the halls when sleep eluded them. Only then it was usually Byleth who turned up outside her room - by coincidence, perhaps, stayed at that particular door while checking on all his students.</p><p>Things have changed since then. Now, he is not her teacher, and she is the commander of an empire. He didn't appear to have aged a day when he came back from his long disappearance; could she be older than him now, too?</p><p>She sets that thought aside, and says hesitantly into the silence, "Have you... slept well, here?"</p><p>"Well enough," Byleth says, and then, "What's keeping you awake? If I may ask."</p><p>Edelgard sighs. "You know you may." Still, she pauses again before confessing, "It's... nothing deep. The truth is, I'm simply too cold to fall asleep."</p><p>There's no reply right away, and when she looks up Byleth is staring at her, expressionless as ever. Edelgard prepares to defend and excuse herself - really, what did she think she was accomplishing by waking him, like some needy child? - but before she can speak, Byleth finally responds.</p><p>"It is awfully cold here," he agrees. "I guess I'm just still used to sleeping anywhere."</p><p>Edelgard nods. That would make sense; as a mercenary he probably had to sleep in whatever conditions were available, perhaps even outside on occasion. But it's not as if she's slept in luxurious palaces all her life. She camped out with the army during the war, and her classmates during missions, and even before that, there were the dark, stale rooms under the castle in Enbarr... </p><p>She silently curses her small frame even as she hugs her robes closer to it. She has conquered countries and killed a dragon. She has ushered in a new era of equality and peace. To be defeated by some cold weather is almost unbearable.</p><p>Byleth goes on, "I'm sure the innkeeper or his assistants could find you some extra blankets, or something. They were eager to help us settle in earlier."</p><p>"Yes... but did you speak with the proprietor? He is so desperate to please, I fear if I told him I was cold, he would set the inn on fire just to warm me up."</p><p>Others probably would miss the ghost of a smile that passes across Byleth's mouth, but Edelgard has learned to read him better than most. She notices each twitch of his lips and movement of his eyes as plainly as a shout or a jump, and his amusement warms her chest, just a little.</p><p>"Well, there is a simpler solution," Byleth says then, and Edelgard's face brightens with genuine curiosity.</p><p>"Which is?"</p><p>In response, Byleth pulls back the covers of his bed. Edelgard stares at the open space next to him, and feels her face begin to flush.</p><p>It is true that they are technically engaged; they made a promise to stay together, after the war, and she accepted his ring, though there have been no further concrete plans. She could even, if pressed, call Byleth her lover - not that the term means much, when her duties and the delicacy of the situation keep them apart so often.</p><p>But the facts of their relationship status aside, she has never shared a bed with him - never <em>crept into his room</em> under the cover of darkness to - to -</p><p>"The bed is getting cold," Byleth says, and Edelgard starts. That is true, and despite the heat in her face she is still shivering, and maybe that more than anything compels her to step forward and set her candle on the nightstand.</p><p>She climbs into the bed slowly, almost regretting her decision when her robes shift and her skin touches the chilly sheets. But as soon as she's settled, Byleth wraps the blankets around her and heat begins to seep in, and then suddenly everything is dark as he blows out the candle.</p><p>For a few moments, Edelgard can't see anything. Her heart pounds; she's still suppressing the urge to shiver. The blankets shift, and then she feels Byleth's arms snake around her, pulling her up against him.</p><p>He's warm. Warmer than the bit of heat clinging to the sheets under her, warmer than the soft blankets. All of a sudden Edelgard forgets her reservations and curls into him, laying her head against his chest, most of her face under the edge of the blankets.</p><p>"Is that better?" Byleth asks. Even his breath is warm, against the top of her head.</p><p>"Much," Edelgard sighs.</p><p>Byleth only hums in response, and Edelgard listens to the steady beating of his heart. A minute or two later, he says, "You're still very tense."</p><p>If anything, Edelgard tenses more at that. She's no longer shivering, but her skin still prickles, and she pulls her legs in a little closer.</p><p>"...Give me a few minutes," she murmurs into the blankets. "I'm still warming up."</p><p>This time Byleth doesn't say anything, but she can feel him nuzzle her hair. He adjusts his arms around her, sighs, and says in a low, sleepy voice, "I love you, El."</p><p>The reaction is immediate. Both Edelgard's face and chest burn with very different kinds of warmth, both of which seem to spread through her whole body. She gets the feeling that pretty soon the heat might become more than she was prepared for.</p><p>She pushes her forehead into Byleth's chest, thankful for the darkness - not that it matters much anyway, as Byleth seems to be half asleep already.</p><p>"Thank you, my love," she whispers against his nightshirt, and finally starts to drift off herself.</p>
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